VILLAGERS in Astwood Bank have reached the end of their tether with electricity supplier GPU Power after suffering frequent power cuts.

Electricity was most recently lost for three hours on Monday morning but people in the south of the village can cite numerous occasions over the last few years when they've been left in the dark for up to four hours.

People working from home claim they could be losing business due to the blackouts which happen without warning.

They are also angry about the inconvenience of freezers defrosting and food left half-cooked. The villagers also suffer numerous mini-blackouts.

Victoria Brittain, who lives on Evesham Road near Edgioake Lane, said: "It's been going on for years and we're pulling our hair out now.

"All our appliances are electric so we can't even have a hot drink when it happens and I'm seriously thinking of changing to gas because it happens all the time.

"They've said that they can't guarantee the supply in rural areas and told us the problem can't be fixed until the next financial year, which means 2001 or 2002."

Mrs Brittain, whose husband runs his business from home, added: "We pay exactly the same bills as everyone else so I don't see why we should have to constantly put up with this."

A GPU Power UK spokesman said the power cut was due to a fault with a high voltage underground cable which affected 2,450 customers in Astwood Bank, Studley and Sambourne.

The spokesman said the other power cuts were due to wear and tear on overhead cables which were due to be replaced.

She added: "We can't replace them before 2001 because we have to fit it in with our replacement schedule and obviously we've got a very large network and these things happen in other areas as well."